Expert Panel
Each issue of ist Magazine features a cover story filled with valuable and relevant information gathered from experienced salon professionals across the country. This month, the following group of tanning pros – who represent nearly 60 years’ of combined industry experience – were kind enough to share their expertise:
Abby Clemmer,
Purchasing Agent
Heartland Tanning, Inc. – Lees Summit, MO
6 years’ industry experience
James Oliver,
CEO
Beach Bum Tanning & Airbrush Salons – Parsippany, NJ
16 years’ industry experience
Rick Norvell,
Owner
Norvell Skin Solutions – Alexandria, TN
29 years’ industry experience
Sheila Routon,
Marketing Manager
Four Seasons Sales & Service – Paris, TN
6 years’ industry experience
Everyone needs an occasional wake-up call, and the indoor tanning industry recently received a big one from ABC News’ “Good Morning America”!
This summer wasn’t a good one for the indoor tanning industry, thanks to the folks at ABC News. The hullaballoo caused by the “New Jersey Tanning Mom” barely whetted the station’s appetite for destruction, so “Good Morning America” decided to sink its teeth into the indoor tanning industry, as well.
Instead of the usual attack on UV exposure that industry veterans have come to expect from mainstream media, GMA placed sunless tanning in its crosshairs and fired with its “Are ‘Spray-On’ Tans Safe?” investigative report. While much of the program seemed to exaggerate the alleged “dangers” of sunless tanning, the most damaging words were spoken not by reporters, but by salon employees, who offered some embarrassing sound bytes. But, as the old saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, and some of these folks have learned valuable lessons from the experience. Most important are the things we all can learn from this unfortunate situation.
Major Changes!
By now, everyone knows that some salon employees claimed (on camera) that DHA solution was “so safe that you could drink it”, and that it’s “great for pregnant women” on the June 11 segment of GMA. That unfortunate salon employee works at “Beach Bum Tanning & Airbrush Salon in New York City. “As the franchise owner, I was saddened to see the staff saying the wrong thing on national television,” said James Oliver, Beach Bum CEO. “Being in New York City, we’re used to getting featured in the media; but, in the past, it was always for reports about UV tanning. We were never interviewed about sunless tanning, so this took us by surprise.”
While Oliver sees GMA’s latest news segments on tanning as yet another attack on our industry, it did serve as a learning experience for him and his associates. “In the past, we passively promoted the FDA’s recommendations for sunless tanning – using protective undergarments, nose filters, and eye protection – with signage posted in our lobby,” he said. “Now, we’re much more active about it, starting with our sales representatives who inform clients of the FDA’s recommendations and adding that Beach Bum strongly agrees with using these precautions. We’ve also added more signs in our lobbies and all of our tanning rooms reminding clients of the importance of protecting themselves during a spray-tanning session.” Oliver also recently invested in extraction booths to remove excess solution mist from the air during Beach Bum’s airbrush sessions.
Oliver believes that the GMA feature can provide a learning experience for tanning salon operator everywhere. “If you’re a salon owner, it’s worth the investment to hire a PR firm or similar business to coach you on the finer aspects of dealing with the media,” he said. “When you get in front of a camera unprepared, the results are never flattering for your salon or the industry; but preparation can teach you how to identify leading questions and properly respond to them. This will help minimize the shock factor you’ll experience when the segment airs.” (See sidebar, “Lesson No. 2 – ‘GMA’ Strikes Again”.)
The Lesson Continues…
Salon owners weren’t the only ones who learned something from GMA’s spray-tanning segment – the one-sided report also affected at least one sunless tanning product manufacturer. Reporter Mark Greenblatt suggested that Rick Norvell of Norvell Skin Solutions was responsible for the “sunless-solution-is-so-safe-you-can-drink-it” claim, but Rick disagrees. “Most manufacturers who work with DHA solution know that it got its start as an artificial sweetener that was used in children’s medicines,” said Rick. “When the babies began to drool, doctors noticed that it left tanned streaks on their chins, and this gave someone the idea to use it as a self-tanner. I think after years of this story being passed around between raw material producers, distributors and manufacturers, it somehow morphed into the claim that it’s safe for consumption.” Mark Greenblatt indicated that, as a result of GMA’s report, Norvell is now recommending tanners use nose filters during sunless sessions. This, Rick says, is not true. “As a company, we have always urged our salon clients and tanners to follow the FDA’s recommendations for sunless tanning,” he said. “We’ve suggested that spray techs wear standard breathing masks when applying airbrush tans, and use backdrops that help filter solution mist from the air. Airbrush and sunless tanning can be great additions to every tanning salon; but, like anything, certain precautions should be taken.”
“We Need More!”
Even the product distribution companies learned something from the GMA sunless tanning segment. “After seeing that report and how it stressed that not enough sunless tanners were using nose filters, I had a feeling that we needed to stock up on more of these items than we typically carry,” said Abby Clemmer, Heartland Tanning Purchasing Agent. “I ordered much more than we normally purchase and, as predicted, we ended up tripling sales of this and other sunless protective items during the month of June.” To help salons encourage tanners to follow the FDA’s recommendations for sunless tanning, Abby also said Heartland prepared “sunless kits” that contain protective eyewear, undergarments, hair caps and nose plugs, and provided them with every purchase of the company’s new Pura sunless booth.
Four Seasons Sales & Service reports the GMA sunless tanning report had an effect upon its sales of sunless protective products. “We definitely saw a spike in orders for nose filters in June and had to order more of them, as well as other protective items, ourselves,” said Sheila Routon, Four Seasons Marketing Manager. “Also, to help salon pros encourage tanners to follow the FDA guidelines, we bundled our ‘Sunless Essentials’ kit – nose filter, lip balm, protective eyewear and undergarments – and made this available to our salon clients. We also suggested they post signage featuring the FDA’s recommendation in their lobbies and tanning rooms to help get the message out.”
Now What?
So, “Good Morning America” aired a report about sunless tanning in which some facts might have been misconstrued and some salon operators said things they shouldn’t have. So, where do we go from here? Perhaps everyone in this industry can learn something from all of this, starting with the notion that talking to the mainstream media is not good, at least for the average salon professional. Secondly, whether being interviewed or simply answering a client’s question, salon pros should not say anything that comes close to being a medical claim, as this opens the door for indoor tanning to be further criticized. Lastly, issues such as this always come down to training and education – if your current training program encourages making medical claims, perhaps it’s time to invest in one that focuses on professionalism and proper business practices. Unless you believe the industry can handle more of these “reports”?
